The border of every tiled object is called a "track." A middle-click on the track opens a menu. A right-click issues a default command (usually System.Close). Unlike modern OSes, resizing is not done by dragging a fragile edge; you click a divider command.
If you have millions of objects that only cover 1 pixel each, the per-tile overhead of storing pointers can exceed the cost of just drawing them. Solution: Implement a hybrid approach—particles under a certain size bypass the tiler and use a traditional particle system.
Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines, or open an issue for feature requests and bug reports.
Oberon Object Tiler: A Simple yet Powerful Tool for Oberon Enthusiasts
The Oberon Object Tiler is a utility designed to simplify the process of organizing and arranging objects within the Oberon programming environment. For those familiar with Oberon, a system developed in the 1980s by Niklaus Wirth and Jürg Gutknecht, the Object Tiler offers a straightforward solution to a common problem: efficiently managing the spatial layout of objects on the screen.
What is Oberon?
Before diving into the specifics of the Object Tiler, it's worth briefly revisiting what Oberon is. Oberon is a programming language and a software system that was designed to support the creation of complex applications. Its design emphasizes simplicity, clarity, and efficiency. The Oberon system provides a component-based, object-oriented environment that supports the creation and composition of software objects.
The Need for an Object Tiler
In the Oberon environment, objects (such as text editors, viewers, and other graphical components) are created and manipulated directly on the screen. As the number of objects increases, arranging them in a useful and aesthetically pleasing manner can become cumbersome. This is where the Oberon Object Tiler comes into play.
Functionality of the Object Tiler
The Object Tiler is designed to assist users in systematically arranging Oberon objects on the screen. Its primary function is to tile objects in a neat and orderly fashion, making optimal use of screen space. The tiler can automatically resize and position objects, ensuring that they fit well within the available screen real estate without overlapping. Oberon Object Tiler
Key Features
Benefits for Oberon Users
The Oberon Object Tiler offers several benefits to users of the Oberon system:
Conclusion
The Oberon Object Tiler is a valuable tool for anyone working within the Oberon environment. Its ability to automatically arrange and resize objects not only saves time but also enhances the usability of the Oberon system. Whether you're a seasoned Oberon developer or just starting to explore the capabilities of this unique programming environment, the Object Tiler is sure to become an indispensable part of your workflow. The border of every tiled object is called a "track
Conventional GPUs rely on a giant command buffer. The CPU spends a significant portion of its frame time sorting draw calls, changing shaders, and binding textures. As scene complexity grows, the driver overhead becomes catastrophic. Even with modern techniques like Vulkan or DirectX 12, developers must manually implement command buffers and synchronization.
To understand the power of the Oberon Object Tiler, one must first understand the problem with traditional rendering (immediate mode and retained mode).
Overdraw (drawing the same pixel multiple times) is the enemy of mobile GPUs and high-framerate rendering. In a naive painter's algorithm, a background object draws a pixel, then a foreground object draws over it. With the Oberon Object Tiler, because per-tile sorting resolves depth early, the renderer can implement early-z rejection at the tile level. Objects that are entirely occluded are never even fetched from memory.
For developers, you can use the OBNC compiler (Oberon-07 to C) to compile a basic tiler stub for Linux. This is purely academic but demonstrates the recursive split logic in 200 lines of code.
MODULE TestTiler;
IMPORT Views, Containers;
VAR main: Containers.Frame;
BEGIN
(* Initialize tiler with a root container *)
main := Containers.New();
...
END TestTiler.
The entire Oberon Tiler codebase (original) fits in less than 10 KB of source code. Modern X11 window managers are often 50,000+ lines. When you need a tiling system for an embedded device (IoT, RISC-V), replicating the Oberon logic is trivial. Oberon Object Tiler: A Simple yet Powerful Tool